Cielo’s improved wine selection, 80 percent of which is from California, dovetails with the rooftop restaurant’s recent rebranding from Italian to steak and seafood.

“We hired a team that came up with a great menu matched to the wines,” said Tony Mangione, the resort’s director of food and beverages.

Many of the wines are culled from boutique vineyards in the Napa region, Arroyo Grande, Central Coastal and Alexander Valley, said Robert Volpe, Cielo’s general manager and sommelier. The best-seller is the Meiomi Pinot Noir, $12 for a 6-ounce glass, $52 a bottle.

The three tiers of awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists “offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers,” according to the Wine Spectator website.

This year, 3,618 restaurants representing every state and more than 75 other countries and territories earned an award for their outstanding programs.

The first tier, Award of Excellence, named 2,564 winners who typically offer at least 90 wine selections. These included Caprice Cafe, Cielo, Fleming’s, The Sycamore Inn and Vineyard Rose.

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